Australian Federal Court orders stop to Japanese whale hunt

15 January 2008

Humane Society International (HSI) has today secured a historic decision from the Australian Federal Court which could save hundreds of whales from the Japanese harpoon. The Federal Court has confirmed that the Japanese whaling company is in breach of Australian law when it kills whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary and has ordered that the hunt be stopped.

The Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha has a permit from the Japanese government to kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales in Antarctica this summer. Based on records of previous hunts, approximately 90% of these whales will be killed in the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

The decision from the Federal Court is historic in that it is the first time the Japanese whalers have been taken to court and it confirms that the hunt is illegal. HSI will serve the order that the hunt be stopped at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo right away and we call on them to abandon the hunt immediately.

The Rudd government has supported HSI’s case against the Japanese whalers in contrast to the previous government who opposed it.

“HSI calls on the Rudd government to live up their pre-election commitment to enforce the Federal Court injunction against the whalers immediately so that no more whales are killed in the Australian Whale Sanctuary this summer.”

Copies of the Federal Court judgement and the Australian Labor Party’s election commitment to enforce any injunction handed down by the court can be obtained from www.hsi.org.au or by calling the HSI office on 02 99731728.